Tips for Working from Home & Being Professional

Being Successful at Home

Being successful at what you do is a matter if mindset almost as much as skill.  There’s no denying that you have to know your trade so to speak, but actually making something of it and being good at it depends upon your ability to balance your skills and your time effectively.  This is true regardless of where you work- in a corner office, in a cubicle, or in your own living room.  In fact, 17 million people work from home, and I am one of them.  Getting, keeping, and being good at out jobs is an interesting combination of skills, time management, and discipline.  Over the past 3 years, I have found a few things instrumental in keeping my job even in a bad economy.  There are many who can do what I do, but I think what I’ve found is that not that many know how to juggle home life and work life without sacrificing one or the other since they are the same physical location.  That said, here are some basic tips that I feel apply to most work form home jobs.

• Set “office hours.”  It’s not fair to your family or yourself to work 24/7.  Just like an office job, you need to set specific hours in which you work, and I do mean work.  Treat your at-home job as a real job and be professional about it.  You can’t take breaks to hang with friends, wash dishes, or even do laundry.   On the flip side, once those hours are over, stop working and go “home.”
• Act professionally.  Just because you have a laptop and a couch doesn’t mean you should work in your pj’s.  You don’t have to wear suits, but dressing professionally can help you stay in the work mindset and not get easily distracted.
• Set goals.  Again it’s part of being professional- don’t work aimlessly or without goals.  Dependent upon your job, set weekly or monthly goals that are challenging but achievable.  This will help you stay focused and not run adrift.
• Block distractions.  They come in a lot of forms, both internally and externally.  If noise of a problem or just catches your attention, try a sound machine or this free white noise generator.  Another form of distraction comes online, as well.  There are quite a few productivity add-ons you can try to get more done.